La maison du tapis jaune

Franca and Antonio (Beatrice Romand and Vittorio Mezzogiorno) place an ad in the paper in order to sell a large, yellow carpet. What should be a simple transaction develops into something sinister when Antonio leaves and a bizarre man arrives.

Franca grows increasingly frightened as the man reveals more about himself and why he's interested in the carpet.

THE HOUSE OF THE YELLOW CARPET isn't your typical giallo-thriller. It is by no means the usual, mindless hunt-and-slash film either. There's a building atmosphere of unreality that is disorienting and adds to the overall mystery. It's also packed with coiled twists that make it nearly impossible to figure out ahead of time!

There are some creepy characters that inject an uncanny, nightmarish sense to the proceedings. While it's not a horror movie, there are certainly some elements of the genre here. Great fun for lovers of suspense.

Expect the unexpected...

"The House of the Yellow Carpet" is a keen, witty, highly imaginative psychological thriller that has nothing to do with "supernatural rugs" or any such nonsense and is a cut above plenty of Italian horror films I've seen. I stumbled upon mention of this rare film in one of those long, long lists of "My Favorite Horror Films" people love to post on the Internet. The title grabbed me immediately and struck me at first as hilarious. I just had to find out what, if anything, could be so "horrifying" about a yellow carpet that it could provide the basis for a "horror" film.

Well, there's nothing much horrifying about a yellow carpet, but there's plenty horrifying about a husband who stays awake all night staring at his sleeping wife and working himself into a fury because in her sleep she's amorously murmuring some other guy's name. I wish I could say more without spoiling the plot. All I can say is, this film features a highly unusual serial killer whose "method acting" is as unsettling as it is, at times, amusing, though the underlying message of "The House of the Yellow Carpet" is dead serious.

Erland Josephson, a noted Swedish actor (and collaborator with Ingmar Bergman) who has a huge list of TV, film, stage, and literary credits to his name, is super here as "the man who comes to buy a carpet." You might remember him from "Fanny and Alexander," "The Passion of Anna," "Saving Grace," "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," "Hanussen," "Sophie," and "Prospero's Books." Born in 1923, he's still alive and working (he played Franz von Papen in the 2003 Italian made-for-TV movie "Il papa buono" about Pope John the 23rd). See "House of the Yellow Carpet" for him alone, but you might be pleasantly surprised that he's not the only thing about this film worth watching.

Small cast does well in small setting; claustrophobic film largely takes place in their flat, as weird husband and his wife, who calls out another's name while asleep, try to sell a the biggest yellow rug, which doesn't even fit in their flat and was given to her by her now dead father. Potential buyer appears, while hubby is out, and proceeds to psychologically taunt and terrorise her, knowing personal information about her, before turning violent, and she kills him in self defense. His wife shows up looking for him, and that first of several twists is where the real fun begins.

Surprisingly for a giallo, it mostly shows restraint in regard to violence and gore, using them sporadically, in only a couple of scenes, relying on acting and atmospheric photography to create tension and suspense. Interesting composure as well, and the film doesn't over do the dark lighting.

This not very well known Italian thriller (Giallo) is a thoroughly unique feature that reinvents classical issues of the Film Noir and the classical Italian Giallo of the 1960s and 1970s to become an extremely original movie of its own.

Most remarkably, "La Casa del Tappeto Giallo" is packed with surprises, and - best of all - they are all real surprises that manage to startle the viewer. Also, the setting of the flat where the yellow carpet of the title lies remains the almost only setting of the whole feature (with very few exceptions), which adds a creepy claustrophobic touch to the quite subversive and mean story. Lizzani also delivers a healthy portion of subtle but delicious black humor, and some nasty moments typical for the Giallo genre.

Not to forget the splendid cast. Especially Erland Josephson delivers a delightful performance. The fine score was composed by Stelvio Cipriani, best known for his compositions for Italian police thrillers of the 1970s (e.g. "La Polizia ha le Mani Legate").

Not to be missed... if one can get hold of a copy.

What we have here is another sublime yet criminally neglected giallo-highlight that urgently deserves to be out there on DVD along with the big boys! Once you witness how amazingly compelling and suspenseful this film is, you too will probably wonder why the hell it is still so unknown and incredibly difficult to purchase. "House of the Yellow Carpet" implements a unique and highly creative structure, the convoluted plot-twists are actually plausible for a change and – most of all – director Carlo Lizzani upholds a genuinely unsettling atmosphere throughout the entire film. The script is adapted from a stage play and this really shows, as there's just one main setting and only four characters that gather there. Exactly like in the terrific Audrey Hepburn thriller "Wait Until Dark" (also based on a play), the lack of filming locations increases the tension and, moreover, provides the film with an awkward feel of claustrophobia. Also, the titular yellow carpet might be a hideous piece of interior decoration, but it's definitely a cool gimmick for a movie that falls into the category of "gialli"! The opening sequence immediately sets a sober tone, as a husband overhears his wife talking in her sleep about sex with another man. The next morning, we learn that the couple placed an ad to sell an old inherited yellow carpet that hardly fits in their apartment. When she's alone later that morning, the woman receives a visitor who pretends to be interested in the carpet but the strange & uncanny man promptly ensues to psychologically terrorize Franca about her deepest desires and hidden childhood secrets. I know it's not much of a summary, but it's really all that I can tell about the story without revealing essential elements. And, trust me, this is the type of film for which you don't want to know already how it ends. "House of the Yellow Carpet" is not as violent or sick-spirited as most contemporary giallo-efforts (partly due to the budget?), but the lack of gore is widely compensated by a stylish photography and great dialogues. The acting performances are highly satisfying too, with a splendid role for the Swedish veteran actor Erland Josephson ("The Unbearable Lightness of Being"). Excellent film, truly recommended.